Nigel Reo-Coker and Luke Young have reinforced the impression that Aston Villa remains a club very much in limbo. Almost everything at Villa Park has been necessarily placed on hold while directors, staff and players wait to learn whether Gérard Houllier will be fit to resume as manager.

Reo-Coker believes that, rather than being pilloried for underachieving, he and his team-mates should be praised for averting relegation. "It has been very difficult at this club, there has been so much that has happened throughout the whole season," the midfielder said. "Full credit to the boys and the staff because we have done well. If other clubs had been in the same situation as us they would have been relegated. So much has changed, we have done well to stay together as a team and keep performing."

With Reo-Coker and the goalkeeper Brad Friedel approaching the end of their contracts and persistent rumours linking Ashley Young with a transfer to Manchester United, Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, Luke Young is worried that Villa are treading water at the wrong time. "We've discussed it ourselves as players, wondering who is going to be making the decisions about who to keep and sell," he said. "No one knows. Again."

Villa have had four managers since the end of last season: Martin O'Neill, who left the club on the eve of the new campaign; Kevin MacDonald, who was caretaker manager; Houllier, who was appointed in September; and Gary McAllister, the Frenchman's assistant who is currently filling in. But Reo-Coker hopes Houllier will be passed fit after his heart trouble to return to the dugout.

"I owe Gérard Houllier tremendously," he said. "He has restored belief and confidence. He is a great manager. I think he has got us playing great football and I still believe the best is yet to come."

Even so, Reo-Coker acknowledges that only the doctors can determine whether Houllier is able to finish what he started. "His situation's bigger than football," he said. "I sent him a text a couple of weeks ago to see how he was and I will probably go and see him this week. I owe him a lot and am very grateful for the opportunities he has given me and the belief he has instilled."